The public rely on the police to enforce the law, and the police rely on the public to report crime and assist them with their enquiries. Police action or inaction can also impact on public willingness to informally intervene in community problems. In this paper we examine the formal-informal control nexus in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on a survey sample of 1,595 Australians during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, we examine the relationship between police effectiveness, collective efficacy, and public willingness to intervene when others violate lockdown restrictions. We find that perceptions of police effectiveness in handling the COVID-19 crisis has a positive impact on the public’s willingness to intervene when others violate lockdown restrictions.

市民仰赖警方执法，而警方仰赖市民举报罪案及协助他们查询。警方的作为或不作为也会影响公众非正式干预社区问题的意愿。在本文中，我们研究了 COVID-19 大流行背景下的正式-非正式控制关系。我们利用 COVID-19 封锁限制期间对 1,595 名澳大利亚人的调查样本，研究了警察效能、集体效能和公众在他人违反封锁限制时进行干预的意愿之间的关系。我们发现，对警察在处理 COVID-19 危机方面的有效性的看法对公众在其他人违反封锁限制时进行干预的意愿有积极影响。